Welcome to 2016: Eftpos glitch spreads

By Chris Zappone

The computer bug that brought Bank of Queensland's Eftpos transactions to a grinding halt in the first days of the New Year has hit other banks - including the Commonwealth Bank-owned BankWest.

The glitch, which started on January 1, left Australian retailers struggling to perform routine electronic point-of-sale transactions.

Merchants instead had to rely on carbon vouchers provided by banks or temporary measures that overrode the machines' internal time stamp.

Because of the error, Eftpos terminals recognise the year as 2016.

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As of today, transactions are currently being processed at their normal volumes, said Keycorp, the Australian-provider of the EFTPOS machines.

However, the receipts are still dated 2016. Keycorp said a complete patch will be released to the Eftpos users soon and it would update the public at the time.

The error caused the much-feared, much-hyped but never realised problem that had been expected at the turn of the century from the so-called Y2K bug.

It has now come to light that other Australian and international financial institutions have been affected by the same error.

Merchant customers of Cuscal, best known for its RediATM network, have also been hit, according to the company's merchant services help line. The problem does not affect Cuscal's ATM network, only the Eftpos terminals.

A spokesman for BankWest said a "small number" of merchant services have been affected and that it was working with clients to resolve the issue.

The banks said the number of merchant clients stung by the glitch was not clear. However, individual businesses have complained of the unpleasant New Year's surprise.

The impact of the date-related glitch is wider than initially reported and involves a number of electronic payment systems around the world, including German financial institutions Postbank and Commerzbank, according to reports.

The bug has also affected Windows Mobile software, dating SMS messages six years ahead of the actual date, industry reports show.

One Cairns-based retailer and Bank of Queensland merchant customer said $10,000 worth of business was at risk from the failed Eftpos transactions.

The shop owner, who said he is working with BoQ on the issue, was not able to process payments until yesterday morning because BoQ couldn't provide the carbon vouchers needed for manual transactions.

"I closed early on Saturday due to running out of stationery and did not open (Sunday)" he said. "I will be looking at my legal options."

"All in all (it is) some poor PR for BoQ with the potential for many like me in the retail trade looking elsewhere for their Eftpos Provider."

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A spokeswoman for BoQ said merchant customers encountering the problems with the Eftpos terminals should call the bank's help line on 1800 068 427, or visit the BoQ's website for further information.